A.
In Episode 5 (of the third season) "The Perfect Storm".
Ryan (and Marissa) have been kicked out of the Harbor
School for the Trey shooting incident,
and Ryan has made things worse by punching out the obnoxious Dean at the
school carnival. Assuming that he has no chance of going to college, Ryan
begins looking for a job. Johnny tells him that his uncle might need help
on his fishing boat, so Ryan goes down to the docks and asks for a job,
and that's when we see the fishing boats at the dock.

The same docks
are seen again later (in the same episode) when Marissa confronts Ryan
there, as he's about to leave, telling him she thinks he's a coward like
her father (who also ran away on a boat).

Q.
What is it actually in real life?

A. Real fishing
boats at a real dock.

Q.
Where can I find it in real life?

A. The scene
was shot at the fishing docks at the south end of Ports O'Call Village,
in San Pedro.

Ports O'Call
Village was a popular shopping/dining/tourist spot next to the main channel
of the Los Angeles harbor, the buildings constructed with a New England
theme (somewhat like Fisherman's Village
in Marina Del Rey).

Alas, in the
last decade, the village has faded, and many of its picturesque buildings
have been torn down. But part of the old village remains intact (albeit
with few visitors nowadays). At the far south end of the village, where
the parking lot meets the water, are the old docks & piers of
the San Pedro fishing fleet. The city of San Pedro was named after Saint
Peter, the fisherman, and this spot used to be the scene of a major annual
"Blessing of the Fleet" celebration that drew thousands to the
harbor each year.

The hill you
see behind the boats (in the second photo down) is Palos
Verdes. You can also see the Vincent Thomas Bridge (and the harbor's
freight elevators) in the scenes where the camera is looking back north.
The water seen is in the main channel of the Los Angeles harbor.

Here are a couple
of photos I shot of Ports O'Call Village. It was a nice place. (It's a
shame that it's now usually deserted.)

The City of
San Pedro plans to create a "Fisherman's Park" next door to the
fishing docks, at the south end of Ports O'Call Village, which (while leaving
the fishing fleet intact) should help beautify the industrial tip of this
berth.

To get to Ports
O'Call, take the Harbor (110) Freeway south to its end (don't get off on
the Vincent Thomas Bridge by mistake), where it becomes Gaffey Street.
Take Gaffey south to 6th Street. Turn left (east) on 6th Street
and go to its end (near a Nautical Museum), then turn right on Sampson
Way and follow it to a fork in the road, bearing left onto Nagoya Way and
follow Nagoya to the Village. To find the fishing fleet, stay on Nagoya,
drive past the Village, to the far south end of the Ports O'Call parking
lot, until you can't drive any farther. The number of fishing boats there
at any given time varies depending upon how many of them are out to sea.
(A tip if you go: try the Acapulco Mexican restaurant, just south of the
Nautical Museum - nice patio right dining next to the harbor.)

Here is a map
link to Ports O'Call. And here is an aerial photo from Live
Local, with a pin marking the exact filming location.

A. Ports O'Call
Village used to be one of my favorite spots (before they let it deteriorate
into what it is today), and when I went there, I often parked down at its
south end, near the fishing boats. I also attended one of the "Blessing
of the Fleet" celebrations, back when that was a major event in San
Pedro. And that old, coral pink building in the background is a dead giveaway.
But just to be sure, I printed out a couple of screen captures, drove down
to Ports O'Call and double-checked the view. It was the same, of course.